This invention relates generally to a novel method for accurately aiming flood lights and more particularly to the accurate aiming of flood lights for sports facilities.
The lighting of sports facilities such as football, baseball, soccer, softball, and other athletic facilities is at present a semi-sophisticated art. Lighting engineers are able, through mathematical computations, to determine the number of flood lights and where the flood lights are to be aimed on the playing surface with a substantial degree of accuracy in order to provide optimum uniform lighting for the various different areas of the playing surface. Until now, aiming of the flood lights has been substantially a trial and error precedure. One method that has been applied in the past has been for the application engineer to determine the angular relationship of the flood light based upon its position with respect to the field and by employing angular markings, generally in 15.degree. steps preset the mounting angle for the various flood lights of the system. This method is very crude and very large tolerances must be accommodated. This method in most instances requires substantial readjustment on a trial and error basis to get the proper foot candle levels at the various areas of the field.
Another method known as the "rifle site" method has been employed in many variations but basically the aiming of the flood light is determined by a line of site parallel to the beam axis of the flood light. In employing this method, the application engineer or lighting designer determines the particular locations on the plane surface at which each individual flood light should be aimed. These are identified as "pie plate" locations primarily because pie plates were originally used as targets. A crude site is mounted to the luminaire and is visually aimed, much like a rifle, at the pie plate location to provide, hopefully, accurate aiming of the flood light at the "pie plate" location. This method also incorporates parts and procedures which introduce large tolerances so far as the "aimed" location with reference to the "pie plate" is concerned and on exact means of checking has, until now, been available.